Six months pregnant - everything you need to know

Month six of your pregnancy...in which you lose sleep and buy stuff you won’t need.

Wow, month six has arrived and you look, well, pregnant, finally.

Until now that bump has gone up and down like an inflatable with an infuriating slow puncture.

You get into bed at night feeling huge, admiring that growing tummy in the mirror and then, you wake up as flat as a pancake again wondering ‘erm, where’s my baby gone?’

But, not any more! By six months you're likely to have a definite baby bump going on and it feels good. You’ve probably never been prouder of anything and quite right too. And frankly, everyone else around you is glad of that burgeoning bump as they can finally banish the ‘is she or isn’t she?’ conversations they’ve been having behind your (slightly wider) back.

Month six heralds a shift into ‘bump style’. There’s no hiding that baby now and though you may feel like an elephant, it’s time to start dressing like a fox.

We’re not talking ‘sexy sexy’ (unless you want to of course) but just super stylish with clothes that say ‘i’m pregnant!’ rather than ‘I have been eating lately, like a lot.’

This is a wonderful time to finally embrace and enjoy carrying a baby, finding clothes that cling to and show off that beautiful bump rather than hide it. Strut down that street and let those heads turn sexy mama! You’ve never been more beautiful, even if you don’t quite feel it.

And no, nobody has even noticed your erm, slightly more ample ankles. OK, we admit that although you’re looking super lovely, you’re not going to win any ‘well turned ankle’ competitions at the moment (yes, they are a thing, somewhere).

How pregnancy is changing your body

It’s around now that you might notice your ankles, feet and hands becoming swollen. First of all, if you didn’t already have a visible enough excuse to put your feet up, you really do now so get them up whenever you can and rest.

Mostly swelling is all part and parcel of the pregnancy process and frankly, if you don’t have at least a short period of looking and feeling like the Michelin Man then you have been short-changed of this glamorous experience. But, do mention any swelling that you feel is excessive to your GP or midwife.

Should I be eating for two?

Once you’ve rested those ankles sufficiently, it’s time to get all Nigella in the kitchen...or maybe not quite Nigella with all that butter and cake and sweet stuff, because it turns out that pregnancy is not an excuse to eat endless treats...so maybe pick another food guru, but do eat and do eat well.

By now, you could eat a horse, all the time, at every meal. Your body is in overdrive and you need fuel.

But, what to eat? You can of course treat yourself to tea and biccies here and there but what you and baby need is nutrition so this is a great time to finally embrace kale, or almonds or find out what ‘eating clean’ means (it’s nothing to do with washing up).

Now is definitely not the time for dieting, but it’s just a good time to take stock of what you’re eating and to say ‘OK, cakes are not appropriate for breakfast, lunch and dinner.’

Are you getting enough (any?) sleep?

The problem is that you are craving sugar because you are tired and that might be because you’re up all night.

Tossing and turning has taken on a new meaning this month as mother nature gives you a taste of what it’s like to be up half the night - and you’re ready to swing for the next person who says ‘get used to it’. It might be a tad early for sleeplessness yet, but it will kick in at some point and the reasons for it are delightfully varied and endless.

If it’s not your bladder nagging you to get up, it’s the simple fact that you no longer have any idea how the get comfy. If there is one enjoyable part to being kept awake though, it has to be the wiggling sensations of your little one in the depths of the night. There’s nothing quite like the moment you find yourself giggling in the darkness as you and your precious cargo share a moment of wakefulness in the quiet of the night.

And then there are all those digs in the ribs - but as the third trimester rolls in you might have to figure out who’s doing the digging, baby or your partner?

If it’s the latter then you might be one of those mummies to be who has started snoring. In fact, you might even be waking yourself up with all that racket! It’s another common side effect of hormones and weight gain in pregnancy so don’t worry too much and certainly don’t be embarrassed. If you’re snoring, then you’re sleeping and this is good.

It’s good because you need to be well refreshed so that you can shop for all that stuff you’re going to need when baby comes along. It’s around about now that you’ll really start feeling the need to purchase cots and bottles and gadgets. You’ll no doubt buy things that will be utterly useless and never see the light of day but how are you supposed to know?

If in doubt, stick to cute clothes in bigger sizes that you can wash and fold at least three times between now and when baby arrives.

Once your little arrival has entered your lives, time goes by in a flash. One thing that can be made easy is your nappy journey, when your little bundle is ready to move out of Newborn to the bigger sizes, the choice should be simple…